Decision No. 540/2004/QD-BKH on entrusting the Management Board of Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province with the formation of projects; receiving and examining project files; issuing, adjusting, revoking Investment Licenses and managing foreign investment projects within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone.

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the delegation of authority to the Management Board of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province for the formation of projects; receipt, examination of project files; issuance, adjustment, revocation of Investment Licenses; and management of foreign investment projects within the Chu Lai Open Economic ZonePursuant to Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2000 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam and Decree No. 27/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2003 amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP;Pursuant to Decision No. 108/2003/QĐ-TTg dated June 5, 2003 of the Prime Minister regarding the establishment and issuance of the Operation Regulations of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province;

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THE MINISTER OF PLANNING AND INVESTMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam dated November 12, 1996 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam 2000;

Pursuant to Decision No. 184/2003/QĐ-TTg dated September 8, 2003 of the Prime Minister regarding the establishment of the Management Board of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province;

Pursuant to the Regulations on Industrial Zones, Export Processing Zones, and High-Tech Zones issued together with Decree No. 36/CP dated April 24, 1997 of the Government;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 130/2005/QĐ-TTg dated June 2, 2005 establishing the Management Board of the Lao Bao Special Economic Zone - Trade Area, Quảng Trị Province;

Pursuant to Decision No. 233/1998/QĐ-TTg dated December 1, 1998 of the Prime Minister on the decentralization and delegation of authority to issue investment permits for foreign direct investment projects;

Pursuant to Decision No. 43/2004/QĐ-TTg dated March 23, 2004 of the Prime Minister approving the General Plan for Construction of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province;

At the proposal of the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province at Proposal No. 1687/TTr-UB dated September 15, 2003, Circular No. 2071/UB-KTM dated November 18, 2003 and Proposal No. 166/TTr-UB dated February 6, 2004,

1. The Management Board of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province (hereinafter referred to as the Management Board) shall be the focal point guiding investors investing in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone to operate according to the Operation Regulations of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province issued together with Decision No. 108/2003/QĐ-TTg dated June 5, 2003 of

the Prime Minister; Industrial Park, Export Processing Zone, High-Tech Park Regulations issued together with Decree No. 36/CP dated April 24, 1997 of the Government and relevant laws on foreign investment.

DECISION:

Article 1.

2. Delegation of authority to the Management Board to receive, examine project files; issue, adjust, revoke investment licenses and manage activities of foreign investment projects investing in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone as stipulated in this Decision. The examination and approval of Investment Licenses for projects investing in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone shall be carried out according to the registration procedures for issuing Investment Licenses implemented by the Management Board in accordance with this Decision.

Projects investing in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone that are approved through the registration procedures for issuing Investment Licenses which the Management Board is authorized to issue must simultaneously meet the following conditions:

Article 2. 1. Comply with the Master Plan, Charter, and Operation Regulations of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone approved by the competent authority;

Article 3. 2. Not belong to Group A projects as provided for in Clause 1 Article 114 of Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2000 and amended and supplemented in Clause 26 Article 1 of Decree No. 27/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2003 of the Government;

3. Not belong to sectors where the issuance of Investment Licenses is not delegated as provided for in Clause 2 Article 115 of Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2000 and supplemented in Clause 27 Article 1 of Decree No. 27/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2003 of the Government;

4. Be projects in the industrial sector, industrial service sector, and Group B projects under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Planning and Investment as provided for in Clause 2 Article 114 of Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2000 of the Government with a scale up to 40 million US dollars;

1. In addition to the conditions stipulated in Article 3 of this Decision, projects registered for Investment License issuance must meet one of the following conditions:

a) Export Processing Enterprises with an investment capital scale up to 40 million US dollars in Industrial Parks, Export Processing Zones, High-Tech Parks, and Non-Tariff Zones within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone;

Article 4.

b) Industrial production enterprises with an investment capital scale up to 10 million US dollars and industrial service enterprises with an investment capital scale up to 5 million US dollars in Industrial Parks, Export Processing Zones, High-Tech Parks, and Non-Tariff Zones within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone;

c) Group B projects within the Tariff Zone and outside Industrial Parks, Export Processing Zones, High-Tech Parks within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone with an investment capital scale up to 5 million US dollars;

d) Projects within the Tariff Zone and outside Industrial Parks, Export Processing Zones, High-Tech Parks within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone with an investment capital scale up to 10 million US dollars and an export product ratio of 80% or more.

2. Project files for registration of Investment Licenses shall be implemented in accordance with Clause 1 and 2 of Article 106 of Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2000 and amended and supplemented in Clause 23 of Article 1 of Decree No. 27/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2003 of the Government. The application for Investment License issuance shall be prepared according to Model 1 and accompanying documents shall be prepared according to Models 2.b, 3.b, 3.c, and 4.b of Appendix II issued together with Circular No. 12/2000/TT-BKH dated September 15, 2000 of the Ministry of Planning and Investment guiding foreign investment activities in Vietnam. In cases where investment projects fall within the list of projects required to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment Report, investors shall implement in accordance with Circular No. 490/1998/TT-BKHCNMT dated April 29, 1998 of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment guiding the preparation and review of Environmental Impact Assessment Reports for investment projects and submit them along with the project files for registration of Investment Licenses.

3. The Management Board shall issue Investment Licenses when the project files for registration of Investment Licenses submitted by investors meet the conditions and procedures stipulated in Article 3 and Clause 1 and 2 of Article 4 of this Decision.

4. Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving valid files, excluding the time for investors to amend and supplement the registration files for Investment Licenses upon request of the Management Board, the Management Board shall issue Investment Licenses for projects meeting the conditions. Any requests by the Management Board for investors to amend and supplement the registration files for Investment Licenses and Investment License amendments shall be completed within seven working days from the date of receipt of the project files.

3. The Management Board shall issue the Investment License when the project registration dossier submitted by the investor for the issuance of the Investment License meets all conditions and procedures stipulated in Article 3 and Clause 1 and 2 of Article 4 of this Decision.

4. Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of a valid dossier, excluding the time taken by the investor to amend and supplement the registration dossier for the issuance of the Investment License at the request of the Management Board, the Management Board shall issue the Investment License for projects meeting the conditions. Any requests by the Management Board for the investor to amend and supplement the registration dossier for the issuance of the Investment License and the amended Investment License shall be carried out within seven working days from the date of receipt of the project dossier.

5. For investment projects outside the provisions set forth in Clause 1 of this Article or Group B projects that have not been included in the industry development plan or approved product planning, before issuing the Investment License decision, the Management Board shall send a Project Summary to the Ministry of Planning and Investment; seek opinions from relevant ministries and sectors on issues within their respective jurisdictions for review and approval. Ministries and sectors whose opinions are sought on the project, including cases of amending the Investment License, are required to respond in writing within ten working days from the date of receipt of the project dossier; if there is no written opinion beyond this period, it shall be deemed as approval of the project.

Article 5.

1. The Investment License shall be drafted according to the model guided by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

2. Within seven working days from the date of issuance of the Investment License or the Amended Investment License, the Management Board shall send the Investment License and the Amended Investment License to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province (original), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Economic and Technical Management, and other relevant state management agencies (copies).

Article 6. For projects where the Management Board is not authorized to issue the Investment License, after receiving them, the Management Board retains one set of the dossier (copy) and forwards the remaining dossiers along with the Management Board's comments on the project to the Ministry of Planning and Investment to register for issuance of the Investment License according to Articles 105 and 106 of Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2000, supplemented and amended by Clauses 22 and 23 of Article 1 of Decree No. 27/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2003 of the Government, or to assess the issuance of the Investment License according to Articles 109 and 114 of Decree No. 24/2000/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2000, amended and supplemented by Clause 26 of Article 1 of Decree No. 27/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2003 of the Government.

Article 7.

1. The Management Board guides investors in implementing projects; carries out state management over activities within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone according to the regulations stipulated in the Operation Regulations of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province issued together with Decision No. 108/2003/QĐ-TTg dated June 5, 2003 of the Prime Minister; the Industrial Park, Export Processing Zone, High-Tech Zone Regulations issued together with Decree No. 36/CP dated April 24, 1997 of the Government, and laws on foreign investment.

2. The Management Board shall adjust the Investment License for investment projects that have been authorized to issue Investment Licenses within the authorized capital limit. The adjustment of the Investment License shall be carried out according to Articles 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 of Circular No. 12/2000/TT-BKH dated September 15, 2000 of the Ministry of Planning and Investment guiding foreign investment activities in Vietnam.

3. In cases decided by the Management Board with the agreement of the Ministry of Planning and Investment:

a) Exceeding the authorized capital limit due to the amendment of the Investment License, changing or adding objectives of the project listed in the Conditional Investment Sectors List.

b) Reducing the statutory shareholding ratio of the Vietnamese Party in joint ventures or converting joint ventures into 100% foreign investment;

c) Dissolving foreign-invested enterprises or terminating Joint Venture Contracts before the term.

4. The Management Board shall decide on the dissolution of enterprises and the revocation of Investment Licenses in accordance with current regulations.

Article 8. Quarterly, every six months, and annually, the Management Board shall compile the issuance of Investment Licenses, amendments to Investment Licenses, and the operational status of enterprises within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone under its jurisdiction and report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province.

Article 9. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall create favorable conditions and inspect the Management Board's implementation of delegated tasks in accordance with regulations, bearing responsibility under the law and before the Government for the delegation stipulated in this Decision.

Article 10. This Decision takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette and replaces Decision No. 823/2003/QĐ-BKH dated October 21, 2003 of the Minister of Planning and Investment regarding the delegation to the Management Board of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province in forming projects; receiving, appraising project dossiers; issuing, amending, revoking Investment Licenses, and managing foreign investment projects in industrial parks and export processing zones within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone.